Family's pride as superbike winner spreads mental health message

Warning: This article contains themes of suicide and mental health

For the family of a rising motor-sport star, it is not just his wins that are making them proud of him, it is also how he is raising awareness around mental health, after the death of his father.

Storm Stacey was 13 when he found out his dad had taken his own life.

A rising star in the British Superbike Championship, he has spoken openly of how that major life event affected him and how he channels it into his sport "to go faster and be better".

For his older sister, Lola Stacey, she remembers how traumatic it was at the time, losing their dad.

She supports Stacey at his races along with the rest of their family and documents his achievements, along with recording videos for his social media.

"Dad was such a massive advocate for positive mental attitude," she told me. "He had bipolar disorder, so obviously he was really struggling with the things that were going on his brain.

"It was hard for [Stacey] to figure out where he was going to go and how he was going to make it happen.

"But the thing is with Storm, is that he will make anything happen if he wants it to happen, and we did get that from our dad."

Stacey, from Eccleshall, Staffordshire, is well-known for a particular item of clothing he can often be seen in, away from racing - his top hat.

He believes it is a conversation starter and a way to encourage people to open up about their feelings.

"[My dad] wore cowboy hats, top hats, so I wear the top hat in memory of my dad to support mental health and to get people to talk more," he said.

"The amount of times I'd love to ask my dad certain questions, and I'll never be able to do that again now.

"But being able to use it as fuel to go faster and be better and be stronger, and it shows people that if I can do it, I'm no different to anyone else."

Stacey's mum, Victoria Davies, said she was proud of his efforts around mental health awareness as well as his success on the track.

"I'm incredibly proud. It's been a really good journey. Obviously he was so young when he started," she said.

"But the whole way through from racing mini bikes, and right the way through, I just knew he'd be able to do this. It's exciting where it's going to lead to as well."

At 23, Stacey made his first appearance in May in the North West 200 in Northern Ireland and won the Superstock Race and second Superbike event.

He was already one of the prominent figures in the British Superbikes Championship at the time, claiming his debut race win at Snetterton in 2024 and his ambition is growing.

This year he is aiming for a top-five finish in the championship and one day hopes to compete at the Superbike World Championship.

"I want to be British Superbike Champion. Do I want to be British Superbikes Champion once? No, I want to be it a couple of times, I'm greedy," he grinned.

"I'm still one of the youngest in the championship, doing what I'm doing.

"I've almost got a head start with everything that I've been doing, so I'm only going to get better and stronger and hopefully unbeatable."

If you have been affected by issues raised in this article, there is information and support available on BBC Action Line.